When asked about the rumors behind his disappearance from public view, Putin reportedly said "it'd be boring without gossip":

Looks like Putin's not going to explain his 11-day absence. "It'd be boring without gossip," he says. http://t.co/kwQfcptTPc— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 16, 2015

AFP reports that Putin looked "somewhat pale" at his meeting with Atambayev, but it is still unclear whether his absence was health-related.

Until last week, Putin hadn't been out of the Kremlin spotlight for more than a day since the early 2000s, when he dropped off the grid after a national tragedy in 2000 (the sinking of the submarine Kursk) and when terrorists took over a Moscow theater in 2002 and more than 100 civilians died. So his latest absence was unprecedented in that it had no obvious cause.

The meeting with the Kyrgyz president came after Putin canceled several other scheduled events last week, leading to conspiracy theories about where he might be. Putin was last seen in public at a news conference on March 5.

Rumors claimed Putin died, was on paternity leave, had cosmetic surgery, or was seriously ill. Some speculated that a coup was underway. The real reason behind Putin's unusual absence may never be revealed.